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How to install Avira Antivirus known as Avira AntiVir Personal

 

Another article written for those who never used Avira AntiVir Personal or should I say Avira Antivirus Free Edition. The purpose of this article is to show you how to install Avira Antivirus Free Edition on a computer running Windows. You shouldn't experience any major differences if you choose to install this antivirus on a PC running Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7. The setup procedure must be the same and you should be able to install this free antivirus without any problems if you have all system requirements ( sounds a little strange but don't worry if you can run any other antiviruses on your PC you should be able to run this one to, as it's pretty gentle with your computer resources ). So, before starting with the article I would like to tell you that it's always recommended to install the latest version for all antiviruses or antispyware products, not only for this one. As a friendly warning, please remember that this free version is not a complete security solution ( for example in this free version you won't benefit from "WebGuard protection against malicious websites", "AntiDrive-by that stops malware downloads while you surf" etc. ). If you look for a complete solution we recommend you to try Avira AntiVir Premium which is a full, paid solution ( a trial version is also available ) or Avira Premium Security Suite ( a firewall is available ) So, make sure to download Avira AntiVir from here, this is the same website, it will take you to our download page ( we always update to latest version and we scan all files for viruses or malware ). Make sure to download the setup file to a location on your computer and make sure to remember where you save it. I would recommend you to download this file to your desktop, it's easier this way and you can delete it after the installation is finished. So let's start, I will suppose that you already downloaded the setup file on your PC, it should look like in the following picture, make sure to open this file :

 

 

The first setup window from Avira Antivirus tells us that this window will start the installation routine. It also informs us about the valid license that the free version contains and also tells us from where we can obtain a full, premium edition. It also contains an warning regarding the program archive so you should always obtain the setup file from a safe location. Click on "Continue" button to proceed with the installation.

 

 

You should see a window that will install some files and finally will launch another window that will look like the one from the next picture. This window will contain this message "Welcome to the setup for Avira AntiVir Personal" and also says that "This wizard will install Avira AntiVir Personal on your computer. To continue with the installation press "Next" button.

 

 

This is another informative window that tells us more about the protection that comes with this antivirus and also informs us that, by default, Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Edition is activated with secure threat protection settings. We will talk and see more about how to configure these protection settings at the end of this article when the installation procedure will end. To continue press one the "Next" button.

 

 

The usual "license Agreement" window that appears on all programs should appear. Make sure to read the entire license agreement as this is a free version and you must use this only for personal purposes. You are not allowed to resell or use it for any commercial or professional purposes. To continue, check the small box that says "I accept the terms of the license agreement" and press the "Next" button.

 

 

There is another window that asks you to confirm that you have understood the license agreement terms. Even if you didn't read them, by checking the small box that says "I accept that Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is for private use only and must not be used for any kind of commercial or business purpose." you accept all terms listed in the license Agreement. To continue press "Next" button.

 

 

Now it's time ( in this window ) to choose an installation type. You have to choose from two types. The first one is called "Complete" and this one will install all program features and the second one is called "Custom" which allows you to select the program features that you want to install. As you may already guess, we are going to select, the easy way the first one called "Complete" as it's the easiest one for beginners. So choose "Complete" and press "Next" button.

 

 

A new window should ask you for some registration details. As you can see I have entered a fictious name for this article since I didn't wanted to expose my name and address to a lot of people that will read this article. So go ahead, complete all required fields and when you are ready press the "Next" button.

 

 

If your registration was successful you should see the results of your registration in a window like this one. Press "Next" button to continue.

 

 

A new window will start to install components, please be patient, depending on your computer resources it should take only a couple of seconds.

 

 

Finally, you should see the "Welcome the Configuration Wizard" window which as it says, it will help you with the basic configuration of the program. Press the "Next" button to continue.

 

Installation of Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is complete. Please specify the basic settings required for the reliable functioning of the product. The wizard will help you to do this. Please note that automatic updates are already pre-configured. You can modify the settings as required in the Scheduler.

 

 

We are still on the configuration part and in this window we need to configure this antivirus. Make sure to check that little box with a small cube form, called "Activate AHeAD heuristics" and also check "Medium detection level". As you can see the first box sets the detection level for AHeAD ( Advanced Heuristic Analysis and Detection ) heuristics to work with. This detection level determines how accurately new viruses and malware are detected. The second box that must be checked is actually the optimum level ( by default ) recommended by the developer. You can press on the"Next" button to continue.

 

 

It's time to select extended threat categories. Select the threat categories the program should scan for. By default you should see less threat categories selected, if you click on the "Default values" button it will modify them but I am recommending you to select all of them since it will increase your protection level, just check the "Select all" box. Again, press on the "Next" button to continue with our configuration.

 

 

Another important window from the configuration would be this one. You need to specify the start mode for this antivirus. I would recommend you to choose "Normal start", I am using this mode but you can also choose "Secure start" if you consider that you are a permanent target for viruses however this mode will reduce, better said it will extend the amount of time for your computer to become available. Press the "Next" button to continue.

 

 

We are almost ready. This window recommends that you now run a short system scan for viruses and other malware. The scanner will scan started programs and some system files. The scan only lasts a few seconds. I recommend you to leave this option enabled, so make sure that "Perform short system scan after installation" option is checked. Press one the "Next" button to move on.

 

 

Congratulations, you have managed to establish a basic product configuration. All you have to do is to click on the "Finish" button and you will probably see a small advertising window that says something like "Buy Avira AntiVir Premium at only this price" or something like that. You can close this advertising window ( it's a nice window ).

 

 

Now you should see another window with Avira AntiVir Free Edition that is trying to connect on the Internet in order to update the antivirus database. When it will end it will also perform a short system scan and you can close the window when everything ends so I am going to show here only the update window, I won't show you the scan window since it should start automatically.

 

 

From now on, the antivirus should update automatically if you have a permanent Internet connection. If you don't have a permanent Internet Connection or if you wish to update the antivirus manually you can always open the antivirus by opening the "Avira AntiVir Control Center" located on your desktop or by doing a click with your mouse on the red umbrella located on the right side of your desktop bar. That red sign with an opened white umbrella means that Avira AntiVir is running on your computer. So we were saying that if you access one of those two, the desktop icon and the red sign with an opened white umbrella you should see the following window that will allow you to deactivate the antivirus ( not recommended ), perform a system scan or to start an update. The red zone located on the "Scan system now" was made by me to show you the place from where you can start scanning your computer.

 

 

Congratulations ! You have managed to learn how to install Avira Antivirus Free Edition ( known and delivered as Avira AntiVir Personal - FREE Antivirus ) and you also managed to configure the antivirus for a basic protection. As I said this product is not a full security program but it is a very good ( in my opinion the best one ) antivirus that can get you more than a decent level of protection. For a better product that has a lot of features you need to purchase one of these security programs such as Avira AntiVir Premium or Avira Premium Security Suite that can be found in a comparison table right here. This is a basic article written for beginners and it does not covers all aspects or all features coming with this program, if you need more help regarding this product I would be happy to respond so do not hesitate to contact me.